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The Easiest Way to Avoid Getting Cancer

(HSI) – If you want to cut your risk of asthma, strengthen your immune system, protect your bones, and slash your risk of many kinds of cancers, there’s something you can do every single day to accomplish that!

It’s totally natural and non-toxic, and on some days, it’s abundantly free.

You may have guessed that I’m talking about none other than vitamin D!

Now, some new research is being called “the most important scientific study of this century” on the subject. And it confirms what eAlert readers like you have been learning all along.

There is, however, an important thing you should know if you want to make sure you’re getting the full benefits of this “sunshine vitamin.” And it concerns a practice we’ve come to think of as beneficial… but isn’t always.

The best things in life are free

I’m sure if Big Pharma could somehow package sunlight and sell it back to us, it would!

But, thank goodness, they can’t. Sunshine is (still!) free, and available to anyone who steps outside during the day. And while it’s well known how keeping up your levels of vitamin D are closely linked to good health, some new research has just come out that again shows why this vitamin is so important.

Researchers from both Creighton University in Nebraska and the University of California San Diego conducted a four-year clinical trial of over 2,000 women 55 and older. During that time, some took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D3 and 1,500 mg of calcium, and some got placebo pills.

After the data was crunched, an amazing 30 percent lower risk of cancer was apparent in the women who took the vitamin D and calcium.

The research team also found that the women in the study who did get cancer during those four years had lower levels of the vitamin in their blood than the volunteers who remained healthy.

Joan Lappe, PhD, who led this study, commented that her research adds to the proof that vitamin D is a “critical tool in fighting cancer,” as well as other diseases. She also explained how without proper levels of vitamin D in your body, normal cells can “convert to malignant” ones.

Another recent study found that taking vitamin D supplements can “significantly” lower your risk of an acute respiratory infection. That’s being called a major new reason for taking D daily.

Now, you would think that achieving high levels of vitamin D would be a given, since our bodies can easily convert sunlight into it. But that’s not the case.

I’ve told you how vitamin D deficiencies are practically epidemic, affecting around 85 percent of Americans — and there are good reasons for that.

First, we spend way too much time indoors all year round — and of course, during the winter months, the sun exposure most of us get is limited at best.

But even in summertime, we can get shortchanged. And that brings me to an important thing to remember about getting enough D.

Sunscreen will block your body’s ability to convert sunlight into this life-saving vitamin. That’s why, on sunny days, you need to expose your skin for around 10 minutes before applying any sunscreen to allow your body to make more D on its own.

Of course, there’s absolutely no reason not to also take a vitamin D3 supplement with a minimum of 2,000 IU. They’re about the least expensive vitamins you can find and available everywhere.

And if you can, don’t forget to add some D to your diet with fatty fish, which includes wild salmon, sardines and tuna.